Poon works on a dish of char kueh tiaw from the cart he would likely be most remembered for. — Photos courtesy of Poon Chiew Eng
KUCHING (May 19): For six decades, Poon Hang Sue was something of a Kuching institution, dishing out delicious fried noodles that satiated hungry customers and had them returning for more.
Long queues were a common scene at the three stalls he ran respectively from 10am to 2pm inside Joo Seng coffee shop, 4pm to 6pm outside the coffee shop, and 7pm to 11pm from a cart.
Poon would most fondly be remembered for his last stint for the day, when he would push the cart to the car park in front of shop lots at Jalan Green.
There he would be surrounded by patient customers, many of whom seemed mesmerised by his every move to turn the most simple of ingredients into a masterful dish in his continuously roaring wok.
Poon passed away at age of 97 in his home at Jalan Emerald here at 7pm on Monday.
His youngest of eight children, daughter Poon Chiew Eng, described her father as hard-working, kind, and loveable when contacted by The Borneo Post today.
When asked of rumours among Kuchingites that her father was secretly a wealthy man, she replied, “He started these stalls himself. He was not rich. If he was then he would not be frying and selling char kueh tiaw for 60 years.”
She also thanked her father’s customers for their support through the years.
Chiew Eng added she and her seven siblings helped him at the stalls until they married.
An iconic image of Poon frying kueh tiaw in his wok.
Among netizens paying tribute to Poon on Facebook was The Borneo Post columnist Edgar Ong.
“I remember having had his famous CKT during my school days. We used to cycle there to buy for eat-ins or takeaway. Over the years he’s been on and off a few times and had eventually retired around 10 years ago.
“His was a most unique taste and long queues for his takeaways were very common. He was probably the most smartly attired hawker, his wife would assist in serving,” said Ong.
On WhatsApp, marketing manager Rozana Ong said she would miss Poon’s affordable dish.
“My family and I used to crave for his char kueh tiaw. He stopped selling about 10 years ago.
“From then on, you couldn’t find a char kueh tiaw which is that nice and costs only RM2 per packet. I think it was RM2 if I can remember it correctly, but I know it was much cheaper then,” she said.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii posted on Facebook that with Poon’s passing, Kuching folk had lost an icon of the city.
In response to Yii’s post, Barret Tan, who used to live at Jalan Green in his younger days, said, “We all love his CKT as it was the best. I do not want to make comparisons, but his was unique.”
Tan said Poon sold the fried noodles for 30 sen to 50 sen in the days when it was packaged in banana leaves.
Also in response to Yii’s post, Willie Ho said he used to cycle to Poon’s at night and queue up for char kueh tiaw and tee mee (sweet egg noodles).
“We were still craving for your char kueh tiaw and tee mee sometime ago when a friend said you’d retired. Thank you for the memories and rest in peace Uncle.”
Poon is survived by his widow Khoo Lin Ngo, three sons, four daughters, 16 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
The cortege will leave his home at 9am tomorrow (Thursday) and he will be cremated at KBS Buddhist Village, Jalan Batu Kitang.